Biophysical and in vitro wound healing assessment of collagen peptides processed from fish skin waste

Manjushree, HK; Acharya, PP; Bhat, G; More, SS; Fasim, A

Abstract

The present study was conducted to examine the bioactive and wound healing properties of collagen hydrolysate derived from Piaractus brachypomus (pacu) fish skin waste. Collagen type I (P coll.) yielding 72.25% was isolated from skin waste by following acid-soluble collagen extraction method. Further, collagen was fragmented using bacterial collagenase and the processed collagen hydrolysate (peptides) was in the range of 10-15 kDa that was further purified using ion-exchange chromatography. The FTIR spectra of both P coll. and collagen hydrolysate (PSCH) were nearly similar showing that PSCH retained the structural and chemical composition similar to its parent molecule (P coll.). Solubility analysis revealed that PSCH has slightly better solubility compared to P coll. Similarly, scanning electron micrographs also exhibited more uniform and porous microstructure of PSCH compared to P coll. Further, PSCH was found to be efficient in peroxide quenching (64.5%) and radical scavenging activities (85.74%). MTT studies confirmed PSCH to be non-toxic displaying 84.68% cell viability at the highest concentration (3 mg/ml) and hemocompatibility test revealed PSCH to be non-hemolytic with minimal lysis of only 2.1% of human RBCs. In addition, PSCH also displayed a remarkable wound closure ability of more than 80% at 12 h and 100% within 24 h. Hence, these findings suggest that recycled PSCH has potent wound healing ability and can be produced economically on a large scale for possible biological applications in regenerative medicine.

Keywords: Fish skin waste; collagen type 1; collagen hydrolysate; bioactive properties; in vitro wound healing

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Collagens

Processing collagen peptides from fish skin waste is an important way of resource utilization and circular economy. Collagen is the main protein component in animal tissues such as fish skin. It is rich in nutrients and biological activity and is widely used in food, health products, medicine and other fields. First, the fish skin is cleaned and processed to remove impurities and unnecessary ingredients. Then, the collagen in the fish skin is broken down into smaller peptide fragments through methods such as enzymatic hydrolysis or acidic hydrolysis. These peptides usually have good water solubility and biological activity, and can be used to produce various functional foods and health products. Secondly, collagen peptides can also be used in the medical field. Studies have shown that collagen peptides can promote wound healing, improve skin health, and relieve joint pain, and can be used to produce dressings, skin care products, and joint health products. In addition, collagen peptides can also be used in industrial applications, such as the production of collagen cellulose, collagen films and other materials for packaging, textiles and medical devices.